


It's a Slow Process But Quitting Won't Speed it Up

by RightNow2808



Category: Tennis RPF
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff, M/M, There's a puppy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-28
Updated: 2018-09-28
Packaged: 2019-07-18 18:04:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,997
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16123883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RightNow2808/pseuds/RightNow2808
Summary: Rafa had been lacking motivation to get back on court, but then he found it in the most unexpected way, with Roger's help of course.





	It's a Slow Process But Quitting Won't Speed it Up

**Author's Note:**

> This is just something I wrote to cheer myself up and because I'm missing Rafa badly, and I'll return to Hotter than the Sun tomorrow.   
> Thank you for reading.   
> Kudos and comments are really really appreciated :))

Rafa stepped from under the shower, a towel wrapped around his waist and water droplets flying everywhere around. He shook out his wet hair and went back to his locker.

The locker room was completely empty, the neon lights were humming softly, somewhere in the distance a door slammed shut. He sighed and sat down beside his bags. He had just finished his practice in the gym and in the pool, he still wasn’t allowed to step out on court, so they worked on strengthening his tendon without putting too much pressure on it.

The situation was slowly improving, but it was improving way too slowly for his liking. He had to withdraw from Beijing and Shanghai and he wasn’t even sure if he would be prepared for Paris. The days were gloomy even if the weather was gorgeous and Rafa couldn’t quite place his finger on why he was feeling so down. Sure, he was injured, but it wasn’t that bad, and it wasn’t for the first time.  

No, he was unexplainably lonely even though he kept going outside in the evenings, on his yacht with his friends. He spent every day with his family and Mery, but something was still missing. There was still a sinking feeling in his tummy always present and he only forgot about it when he was doing something productive. Keeping still made him overthink and overthinking made him feel bad.

He sighed again, rubbed his face and tried to pull himself together. He had to get dressed, go home to change into something more elegant. He was supposed to meet his friends at eight to go out, even though he didn’t really want to, but staying home, alone in his misery wasn’t much better.

He slowly got dressed, hissing when he bent his knee. There was still a pinching feeling from times to times, at sudden movements or at sudden weight put on it. He felt a pang of negativity, anger, disappointment, sadness all mixed together like always when his knees hurt. He will never be sixteen again with strong and powerful knees. He was well aware that the period of time he could play tournaments without getting injured was getting shorter and shorter. The lessened schedule didn’t help him this year and it made him doubt his ability to play for much longer. He shook it away. Thoughts like that didn’t help at all.

After he was dressed in his comfortable sweatpants and sweater, he put on his shoes and took the bag. He made his way out slowly. Every day was the same, the monotony of it slowly driving him insane. Seeing the same faces every day, doing the same stuff every day, going the same places. He already missed the tour, the other tennis players, all the staff that always managed to brighten his day everywhere he went. But more than anything, he missed one person he hadn’t seen since US Open, no more than a few messages exchanged in between them.

He last heard from Roger almost a week ago, when he congratulated him for their win at the Laver cup, expressing his desire to be there himself, and when Roger replied with a curt thank you. He missed the days when they texted without a pause, but undeniably, they were older, more responsible and way more independent now. Only sometimes Rafa wished he could be less responsible and more dependent, but he knew it wasn’t acceptable. But well, he only wished Roger cared more about his health and how much progress he’d made in three weeks.

He went to his car and slowly drove himself home. He loved his island but driving down the same road twice every day got boring too and Rafa stubbornly kept his eyes on the road, so he didn’t have to look around his beloved dried up land. It just reminded him of how tied his hands were, of how he was stuck here and couldn’t play tennis because his body wouldn’t let him.

He parked in the garage once he got home and walked into his empty flat. What bothered him immediately when he stepped in, was the turned-on light. He hated when he forgot to turn the lights off, but it was true that he’d left for the academy in a hurry. Only, he didn’t usually forget, and he didn’t this time either.

The house was not like he’d left it at all. There was an additional pair of shoes in the hall, a light jacket hung up in the wardrobe. An absolutely amazing smell hit his nose and Rafa’s stomach rumbled in approval. A small smile formed on his lips as he went towards the kitchen, already knowing who he was going to find there.

At the sight waiting for him, the bag fell from his hands and he stopped still, staring with his mouth open. The table was set up beautifully, the light in the dining room was dimmed and the candles set on the table smelled of roses, the ones Rafa bought years ago on a whim when he accidentally walked past them in the grocery shop.

“Roger,” he murmured lowly, walked past the table and straight into Roger’s arms, who turned away from the kitchen counter at the sound of his voice and smiled widely at Rafa.

“Happy anniversary, baby,” Roger said, hugged Rafa tight and pressed a kiss against his temple. At his words however Rafa immediately pulled away, his eyes wide.

“We not have anniversary today, right? Is not January, Roger.”

Roger smiled at him, his eyes twinkling. “Nope, it’s still September, but I needed an excuse to prepare a romantic dinner and since it’s a year from our first Laver cup I thought that would be good enough. So happy doubles anniversary, Raf.”

Rafa sighed in relief, lightly punching at Roger’s chest.

“You give me a scare, I was afraid I forgot.”

Roger sighed, stroked Rafa’s cheeks. “I gave you a scare? Really? You’ve been watching dog memes again, haven’t you?”

Rafa blushed and shook his head. “Of course not, Roger, I’m afraid of dogs.”

“Sure you are,” Roger snorted. Rafa couldn’t stop grinning.

He wanted to ask Roger so many questions. Why hadn’t he been returning Rafa’s calls and messages. Why hadn’t he asked about his knee? Why? However, all seemed unimportant, because Roger was here, cooking for them and wearing the biggest smile on his face. Rafa pressed himself against Roger’s back and hugged him tightly, while Roger turned back to the pan and stirred the pasta cooking inside.

“Smells nice,” he mumbled.

“Hm,” Roger agreed. “I really hope you’re pleasantly surprised because I spent three weeks planning this?”

“You spent three weeks preparing me pasta with shrimps?” Rafa said, raising his eyebrow. It was nice to tease like that, knowing he would only get a cheeky smile and a light slap on the shoulder in return.

“No, that’s the first part of the surprise,” Roger replied and rolled his eyes. Rafa smiled and squeezed Roger harder, before he let go, going to find his phone in his bag. He had to cancel dinner with his friends.

“What is other part of surprise?” he asked, turning back to Roger after he sent the message.

“It’s a surprise,” Roger replied, not even looking at him. “Pass me the strainer, please?”

“The what?”

“The… um, el colador, is it? The thing to put pasta into?”

“Oh, sí.” Rafa smiled so hard his cheeks hurt. He passed Roger the strainer, knowing exactly what it’s called because he cooked pasta every day, but it was too much fun seeing Roger trying Spanish words to miss the opportunity.

“Okay, it’s almost done, you actually came home earlier than I thought, but I’m glad. At least the food will be fresh for you.”

Rafa smiled softly at Roger and it was like everything in the world was suddenly a lot better. And how wouldn’t it be? Roger was here. “Thank you,” he said and just because he couldn’t resist he hugged him tightly again. It’s been three weeks since he’d last seen him, he’d earned that right.

Roger worked with Rafa pressed to his back in a tight hug while they talked about the weather, how Stefanos lost two matches back-to-back and how Andy was doing better, managing to win against Goffin in straight sets. But their conversation never strayed to a personal level. No, that was saved for later, for when they would lie in the bed together in the dark, limbs tangled, whispering with loving voices.

They ate and talked about other players, about Roger’s kids, how much they enjoyed in Chicago and Rafa told Roger about the new deal his academy made. He was beyond proud of this successful project and since it was exactly four years since they started building the academy a few days ago, he told Roger about the fears he had back then.

“Mmm, it’s good,” Rafa said with his mouth full.

Roger smiled. “You know I can’t cook anything else, but I know you’ve been eating out all the time, so you can stay in for a change.” Rafa sometimes thought Roger knew him too well, but he couldn’t deny he liked it. He loved that when Roger was with him, he could let some things slide, because he knew the Swiss would take care of it.

“Thanks, Rog, really means a lot to me.”

Rafa meant it more than anything else. The weight he’d been carrying for the past three weeks suddenly disappeared, as if Roger had taken a part of it. The Swiss gave him a sweet smile and they finished eating in comfortable silence, with their feet touching under the table.

After they cleared the table together, Rafa was totally ready to relax in a nice steaming bath with Roger, but the other man seemed to have other plans, because he gently steered Rafa away from the staircase and towards the hall.

“Where are we going?” he asked, after Roger told him to put on his shoes.

“You’ll see?” Roger replies. His smile told Rafa he wouldn’t say anything else, but Roger seemed very pleased with himself and Rafa decided to let Roger have his way of doing this. He could wait.

They sat down into Rafa’s car after they locked the door, Roger taking the driver’s seat. Rafa sort of expected Roger to drive them to the shore, to their secret spot where they spent a lot of their free time during the years, but to his surprise Roger drove him somewhere into the centre of Manacor. Rafa bit his lip to resist asking where they were going on every single turn.

When Roger finally parked the car after about a fifteen-minute drive, Rafa still couldn’t tell where they were. He didn’t know that part of the city very well.

“Okay, so, maybe you’re not going to exactly like this at first, but I promise I’ve got it all planned out, so don’t panic, okay? Just let yourself enjoy right from the start,” Roger said and looked at him with a painfully honest expression on his face. Rafa raised his eyebrows. He didn’t usually get warnings like that. That meant that whatever Roger had planned was probably out of Rafa’s comfort zone, but Rafa felt okay. It wasn’t the first time Roger pushed him out of his comfort zone and later on it always turned out that Roger meant well and that it helped him. He trusted him completely.

He nodded with a tight smile, because he still got slightly nervous, but when Roger stepped out of the car, he didn’t hesitate to follow him for one second. He opened his own door and went after Roger who offered him his hand. Rafa took it, their fingers immediately intertwining like they were meant to fit together and slowly Roger led him to a building Rafa had never been to before.

It wasn’t until he was close enough to read what the signs said that he knew.

“We… Are we getting dog, Roger?”

Roger gave him a grin that had to hurt his cheeks. “I really hope you’ll agree, Raf. We’re only here today to see him and I really think you’ll like him.”

Rafa felt completely speechless and a little choked, because this was exactly what the outside of his comfort zone was. He liked dogs from afar, but he was afraid of them ever since a huge dog chased him, threw him down on the floor and climbed on top of him, not letting him move while he was afraid to death of getting bitten, back when he was a kid. After that he was never really comfortable even if he knew that all dogs weren’t like that. Feli had a nice dog, and so did his cousins, but that one was still small. He just wasn’t sure how he felt.

“You’re overthinking already, aren’t you?”

“Um…”

“Come on, Raf, if you don’t like him, or if you’re really against the idea we don’t have to buy him, but I think you’ll agree the moment you see him.” Roger was looking at him with big puppy eyes and okay, Rafa likes dog memes, it wouldn’t hurt to see a puppy in real life.

“Okay, I try,” he said, and Roger gave him a smile that could light the whole world up. That alone was enough that Rafa actually really wanted to try. “You plan this before?”

“I spoke to the manager right after the US Open. I told them what I was looking for and when they sent me pictures of different puppies I chose him immediately. You’ll see, he’ll steal your heart. They’ve been sending me videos of him every day to show me how he’s been growing, and I think I’m already completely in love with him.”

Rafa jokingly narrowed his eyes on Roger. “Don’t make me jealous now.”

After they walked inside Roger talked to the manager who had been expecting them and after he shook hands with Rafa, he took them down the corridor to meet the puppy. The whole building was filled with barking, meowing, whining and Rafa found himself smiling. So far he was enjoying this.

“So, the surgery we talked about went completely well, and he’s fine, just a bit confused,” the manager spoke.

That got Rafa’s attention and his eyebrows shot up. “The surgery?” he asked, looking at Roger.

“I’ll tell you in a minute.”

That had Rafa curious. Why did the puppy undergo a surgery? They went into a small room, the dog toys scattered all over the floor, but the room was completely empty. At least Rafa thought it was until a puppy untangled himself from a pile of blankets in the corner and yapped at them, getting himself up and stumbling towards them on three paws, his small tail wagging furiously.

Roger immediately kneeled down, and the puppy climbed into his lap, whining and licking at Roger’s neck, while Rafa stood there, choked up and helplessly looking down at how happy Roger seemed. The manager noticed his confusion and seemed to figure out that Rafa had no idea about the puppy’s condition.

“The umbilical cord had wrapped around his paw during birth, cutting off the flow of blood. At first we amputated the dead flesh only to his elbow, but he learned to walk with all four paws, stepping on the stump and it started showing on his spine, and he kept rubbing through his skin, so we decided to remove his whole paw, and he’s perfectly fine now,” the manager quickly explained in Spanish. He seemed worried Rafa wouldn’t want him now, but Rafa barely heard the last part.

He kneeled down beside Roger, touched the puppy’s soft fur and felt nothing but warmth when the tiny thing started climbing all over his lap, pressing his only front paw against Rafa’s chest, sniffling at him and licking every part of Rafa’s skin he could reach. Roger was right. Rafa liked him immediately and without realizing it he started crying when the puppy ran around them in circles, stumbling every once in a while, but getting up immediately after and continuing.

Roger hugged him and Rafa buried his face into his neck to cry, because suddenly he felt too much of everything and he sobbed while the puppy climbed back into his lap and looked at him with his head tilted to the side, before he decided something was wrong and climbed up Rafa’s chest until he could lick at his tear-stained face. Rafa giggled at that, and gently hugged the puppy. He was so small, he easily fit into Rafa’s hands.

“He’s a dalmatian and he’ll grow, but he’s the smallest of his siblings and the vets said he wouldn’t ever grow up big like them. He’ll always be a little smaller,” Roger said.

Rafa still couldn’t speak, he stroked the puppy’s spotted back and tummy once he rolled over and choked out, “sí, let’s take him.”

Roger hugged him, his hand joined Rafa’s at scratching the puppy, while the dog wagged his tail and tried to bite Roger’s fingers. Rafa slid his fingers over the scar where his paw would be, and tears sprang into his eyes again. This puppy was missing a leg, but he was still happy and so full of life, running around, ignoring the falls and always getting back up. He yapped and nuzzled into Rafa’s hand.

Rafa smiled. He’d never had a bigger motivation to get back on tour. Especially now when he could take a puppy with him.

“What should we name him?” Roger asked quietly. The manager had left already and Rafa was glad the man hadn’t witnessed how he broke down.

“He has spots, so Spotty,” he said matter-of-factly. Roger smiled.

“We’ll work on dog names,” Roger laughed and pressed a kiss to Rafa’s lips while the puppy yapped for attention.


End file.
